LOS ANGELES, CA – The Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (“ICOC”), the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (“the Institute”), will hold its next regular meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1, 2005 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM at Stanford University. The meeting is organized pursuant to the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act of November 2004.

As part of the formal ICOC Board meeting, the Institute will present its second “Spotlight on Disease,” a public information and educational event for ICOC Board members, the community and media to discuss the causes, symptoms and potential treatments and cures with stem cell research applications for cystic fibrosis, or CF. CF is a chronic, progressive, frequently fatal disease that primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems in children and young adults. It is one of the most common genetic (i.e., inherited) diseases in America and one of the most devastating. The “Spotlight” will feature a presentation by Richard B. Moss, MD, Director, Stanford Cystic Fibrosis Center, as well as remarks by Bay Area CF patients Isabelle Stenzel Byrnes, Anna Modlin and her mother, Robin Modlin.

MEDIA PARKING: Metered/paid parking for members of the media is available in Parking Structure #1 located at Campus Drive West and Roth Way. Directional signs to Fairchild Auditorium will be posted.

The full agenda for the March 1st meeting is available on the Institute’s website at www.cirm.ca.gov. Also available on the site are a list of the Institute’s subcommittees and their membership, as well as information about past and upcoming meetings.

The ICOC is responsible for the oversight and management of the Institute. The Institute was established in 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was approved by California voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities and other vital research opportunities.